To encourage consumers to keep buying Windows Vista PCs this year despite Windows 7 's looming release, Microsoft Corp. will give away free Windows 7 upgrades to people buying PCs with Windows Vista until as late as January 31 of next year, according to a report.

The report, from the Malaysian blog TechARP.com, which has called similar details correctly in the past, is another clue that Microsoft plans to release Windows 7 before year's end, said Matt Rosoff , an analyst with the independent research firm Directions on Microsoft.

Citing purported confidential memos from Microsoft, TechARP.com had earlier reported that the Windows 7 Upgrade Program will begin July 1 of this year.

That would mean that any Vista PCs purchased between then and January 31, 2010 are eligible for free upgrades to Windows 7.

Microsoft launched Vista to consumers officially on January 30th, or 45 days before the program's eligibility ended.

The program was plagued with delays , with consumers waiting weeks or months to get their Vista upgrade DVDs mailed to them.

TechARP has other purported details from the upgrade program, including screenshots and upgrade paths.

"The program sounds very similar to what they did before Vista," Rosoff said. "I think the terms are slightly different, but that's because there were fewer [versions] in XP, so the edition upgrade paths were similar."

This story, "Microsoft to Offer Free Windows 7 Upgrades to New Vista Customers: Report" was originally published by
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